Control for wringers



Jan. 30, 1940.

D. HAYS 2,188,812

-CON'1ROL FOR WRINGERS Filed Aug. 6, 1936 Inventor David Hays,

Patented Jan. 30, 1940 CONTROL FOR WRINGERS David Hays, Fair-field, Com, assignor to General Electric Company, a corporation of New York Application, August 6, 1936. Serial No. 94,622

3 Claims.

My present invention relates to clothes wringers of the type suitable for use in conjunction with domestic washing machines.

In clothes wringers of this type it has been customary to have clutch means for starting and stopping the wringer and to have an emergency release for releasing the pressure between the wringer rolls. The clutch means and the emergency release have in general been provided with separate operating mechanism.

The object of my invention is to provide an improved construction and arrangement for clothes wringers in which a single control lever controls both the clutch mechanism and the emergency release.

In the accompanying drawing, Fig. 1 is a front elevation partly broken away of a clothes wringer embodying my invention showing the parts in their normal position; Fig. 2 is a fragmentary view of the top of the wringer after the operation of the emergency release; Fig. 3 is a sectional view taken on line 33 of Fig. 1; Fig. 4 is a top plan view of the wringer head showing the clutch operating means; Fig. 5 is an end view showing the lost motion connection between the control lever and the clutch operating means; Fig. 6 is a fragmentary view of the left end of the top frame of the wringer; and Fig." '7 is an exploded view of the right end of the top frame of the wringer.

Referring to the drawing, I have shown my invention applied to a wringer having a frame comprising a bottom member I and side stiles 2 and 2a between which are carried wringer rolls 3 and 4. The lower wringer roll 3 is journalled in bearing blocks 5 which are stationary in the side stiles, and the upperwringer roll 4 is journalled in slidable bearing blocks 5a which are slidable in the side stiles and are urged toward the lower wringer rolls by a leaf spring 6 carried by the top frame member I of the wringer. As shown in Fig. 6, the left end of the top frame I is pivoted at 8 on the side stile 2. At the right end the top frame 'I is connected to the side stile 2a by means of a toggle comprising a pair of links 9 pivoted. at 90. to the side stile and a channelshaped link I pivoted at Illa to the top frame and at lob to the links 9.

As shown in Fig. 3, the links 9 are arranged between the side stile 2a and the sides of the link I0. When the parts are in their normal position, shown in Fig. l, the pivot points 9a are outside or to the right of the center line connecting the pivot points Illa and Iflb. With this arrangement it is obviousthat the upward pressure exerted on the top frame by the leaf spring 6 will tend to pivot the link I0 in a clockwise direction about pivots Illa, as viewed in Fig. 1, and that this force will therefore hold the parts in the position shown in Fig. 1. If the link I0 is pivoted in a counterclockwise direction from the position shown in -Fig. 1, until the pivot points 9a are inside or to the left of the center line between the pivot points I 011 and lb, the upward force exerted on the top frame by leaf spring 6 will cause the links 9 and 10 I 0 to move to the position shown in Fig. 2, thereby releasing the pressure between the wringer rolls. The links 9 and II) can be returned to the position shown in Fig. l by exerting a downward force on link I0. The links 9 and Ill can there- 7 5 fore function as an emergency release.

For operating the wringer I have provided a control lever I I which is pivoted atits ends on pins I2 and I3 which are respectively carried in bearing blocks [4 and I5 fixed between the side walls of the top frame I. On the pin I2 is rotatably carried an arcuate member I6, (see Fig. 3) the lower edges of which bear on the upper ends of the channel-shaped link III. The member I6 is connected to the control lever II by a latch I1 which is biased by gravity so that it fits in a notch I9 in the member I6. When the parts are in this position movement of the control lever H from the central position, in either direction, will cause the member I6 to pivot on the pin I2. This pivotal movement of the member I6 will cause the link I0 to pivot in a counter-clockwise direction about points Illa and thereby to release the pressure between the wringer rolls as described above. Since the latch I1 is normally connected to the member I6 any movement of the control bar from the central position will release the pressure between the rolls. To prevent the operation of the emergency release the opera-tor must lift the arm 20 of the latch I1 so that the latch is moved clear of the notch l9. The arm 20 is for convenience arranged within the hand grip 2| of the control lever so that it can be easily operated if the operator grasps the hand grip. However, since the handle is hollow and the arm 20 and the latch H are arranged within the handle, it is impossible for the operator to unintentionally move the latch so as to prevent the operation of the emergency release.

Movement of the control bar is also used to start and stop the wringer driving mechanism which, for the purpose of illustration, is shown as a typical reversing mechanism comprising a driving pinion 22 adapted to be connected to a suitable driving shaft and oppositely driven meshing gears 23 loose on a shaft 24 which is suitably connected to the lower roll 3. The shaft 24 is suitably journalled in the wringer head 25. Between. the gears 23 the shaft 24 is provided with a hexagonal portion 23 on which is slidably mounted a clutch 21 having teeth on opposite sides thereof which are adapted to engage complementary depressions in the gears 23 thereby coupling the shaft 24 to one of the gears 23. The clutch 26 is operated by a yoke 28 which fits in a circumferential groove in the clutch .21. The yoke is carried on the arm 29 of a bell crank 30 which is pivoted at 3| on the wringer head. The bell crank is held in position by a detent comprising a spring pressed ball 32 carried by arm 33 which engages suitably spaced depressions in the wringer head. The bell crank is rotated about its pivot 3| by a lever 34 which is pivoted on pin 35 and has a pin 36 at its lower end which fits within an elongated recess 31 in the end of arm 31a. of the bell crank. The lever 34 is provided with a notch 38 at its upper end in which fits a projection 39 on the control bar. The projection 39 and the notch 38 provide a lost motion con-- nection between the control lever II and the clutch operating lever 34. The purpose of this lost motion connection is to permit the control lever to be returned to the central position by the spring pressed pins 40 after each operation ;of the control lever. Fig. 5 shows in dotted lines the position of the clutch operating lever 34 and the projection 39 when the clutch 21 is moved to engage one of the gears 23. When the clutch operating lever reaches this position it is held there by the spring pressed ball detent 32 and the pins 40 return the projection 39 on the control lever to the central position, shown in full lines.

To start the operation of the wringer the control lever is grasped by the grip 2| so that the arm 20 is lifted until the latch i1 is clear of the notch l9 and the handle is then pulled toward the operator. This movement causes the clutch operating lever 34 to move the clutch 21 into engagement with the proper gear 23 to start the rolls rotating in the direction to wring clothes from the side facing the operator. 'The control lever is then released and is returned to the central position by the spring pressed pins 40. Due to the lost motion connection between the projection 39 and the notch 38 the clutch remains in the engaged position during the return movement of the control lever. When the lever returns to the central position the latch l'l falls into the notch 59 where it is in condition to operate the emergency release to release the pressure between the rolls. When in this position the emergency release may be operated by moving the handle from either side of the central position without lifting the arm 20 of the latch I'I. Since the arm 29 is so located that it is accessible only when the control lever is grasped by the hand grip 2| the emergency release will be operated unless the operator performs an intentional operation, i. e., the lifting of the arm 20, in order to prevent the operation of the emergency release. When the latch engages the notch l9 movement of the control lever to either side of the central position causes the member l6 to pivot about the pin I2, thereby causing the link In to pivot about points I00. to a position in which the pivot points 9a are inside or to the left of the. center line between the pivot points Illa and lb. As soon as this condition is reached the upward pressure exerted by the spring 6 on the top frame 7 causes the links 9 and ID to move to the position shown in Fig. 2 in which the pressure between the rolls is released. When the parts are in this position the wringer can again be placed in an operative condition by moving the link H] to the position shown in Fig. 1.

When the wringer rolls are rotating, the rotation of the rolls is stopped by grasping the handle 2l so as to lift the arm 20 and moving the control lever from the central position away from the operator a distance sufficient to return the clutch 21-to the neutral position. When released, the control lever is returned by pins 40 to the central position as shown in Figs. 1 and 3.

What I claim is new and desire to secure by Letters Patent of the United States:

1. In a clothes wringer having pressure rolls, clutch means for controlling the driving mechanism and an emergency release for releasing the pressure between the wringer rolls, a control lever biased to a central position, means operated by movement of the control lever from the central position for operating said clutch means, the connection between the control lever and said means permitting the control lever to return to the central position after being released by the operator without operating the clutch means, means operated by movement of the controllever from the central position for effecting operation of the emergency release to release the pressure between the wringer rolls, and means operable by the operator for breaking the operating connection between the control lever and the operating means for the emergency release.

2. In a clothes wringer having driving mechanism including clutch means for stopping and starting the wringer, a control lever at the top of the wringer biased to a central position, means operated by movement of the control lever from the central position for operating said clutch means to start the wringer, the connection bedriving mechanism including clutch means for starting and stopping the wringer and an emergency release for releasing the pressure between V the wringer rolls, a control lever biasedto a central position, means operated by movement of the control lever from the central position for operating said clutch means, a lost motion connection between said control lever and said means permitting the control lever to return to the central position after being released by the operator without operating the clutch means, means operated by movement of the control lever from the central position for eifecting operation of the emergency release to release the pressure between the wringer rolls, and a member carried by the control lever and operable by the operator for breaking the operating connection between the control lever and the operating means for the emergency release. 1

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